Stereoscopic x-ray apparatus



L. R. MCDoNALDl STEREOSCOPIC X-RAY APPARATUS.

. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 3, 192i. 1,438,500.

L. R. McDONALU. sTEREoscoPic x .RAY APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 3. |921.

1,438,500. Patented Deo. 12, 1922'r 4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

lL. n. McDoNALD. y sTEnEoscpPlc xRAY APPARATUS..

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 3. 1921- @sul 65m yzfzmau L. R. lVcDONALD.'

STEREOSCOPIC X-RAY APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 3. 192|.

@mmm/C012,

Patented Dec. 12, 1922.

UNlTED STATES LESLIE a. MQDONALD, or MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA.'

STEREOSCOPIC X-RAY APPARATUS.

Application filed March 3, 1921. Serial No. 449,410.

for observing conditions revealed by the use of the X-ray in the systemwhich maybe spoken of' as X-ray stereo-fluoroseopy; and my improvementsare directed particularly to the production of a light, simple andeilicient device which may be attached to the head of the observer, andthrough which he may look, very much ashe would through a pair of'goggles, but first with one eye and then with the other in such rapidsuccession as to afford a stereoscopic view of the observed conditions;the alternate cutting of'r1 of the line of vision from. one eye or theother being obtained by the use of vibratory means, for which reason Idescribe my improved instrument as a palmoscope.

The details of' my invention will more fully appear from the followingdescription.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a front View; Fig. Q. is a side view, lookingto the left on Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is an end view, looking up on Fig. 2;Fig. 4 is a Viewv similar to Fig. 1, but with the iront casing removed;Fig. 5 is a side view, looking to they right on Fig. 4, the side casinghowever beingV removed and the head rest being partly in section; Fig.(3 is an end view, looking up on Fig. 4; Figs. 7, 8, 9 and 10 aredetails of supportingelements for the vibratory member; Figs. 11 and 12are, respectively, an edge View, and a side view of the soft steelelements of the cores for the electromagnets; Figs. 13' and 14 aresimilar views of the tempered steel elements for the same magnets; Fig.15 is a front view, with the front case removed, of a modification; Fig.16 is a side view of the same, looking to the left on Fig. 15., the sidecasing, however, being removed, and the head rest being partly insection; Fig. 17 is anv end view of the same, looking up on Fig. 15;Fig. 1S is a diagrammatic sketch of the magnetic flux performance of theactuating magnets; Figs. 19 and 20 are details of the holding mechanismfor the vibratory member; and Fig. 21 is a diagrammatic plan of theelectric circuits and operative elements which may be employed inutilizing the palmo.- scope;

Similar letters of reference designate' similar parts in all thefigures.

The several parts of my improved palmoscope are assembled upon a baseA1,. which carries a side casing 2,. and the front casing or cover 3,having an apron 4 extending' down over the lower part of the mechanism.

The base and casing are secured together by suitable means, such asstuds 5 and cooperating' bolts 6.

To the lowerend ot' the base 1 I attachv a shield 7, preferably madev offelt or some similar flexible material, and adapted in form tobridge thenose ofd the wearer and to Contact with the adjacent part of his face soas to protect his eyes from lateral glare, and, also, so as to cushionthe palmoscope where it` rests against the wearers face. And to the.back of the base 1, through the medium of flanges 8, 8,011 othersuitable means, I pivot a head rest 9, preferably provided with alieXi-ble pad, as 10, and with arms 11, 11 which are attached by asuitable pivot 12 tov the flanges 8v on they back of the base 1.Thejhead rest is also provided with loops 13, 13y which are; adapted toreceive the ends of a strap 14, shown; in Fig.. 3, by means of which thehead rest may be secured to the head of the person using the palmoscope,so that the instrument. may be; swung up, if desired, that the user maylook below it, or it may be swung down so that. the peep holes will beinline` withhis eyes.

The actuating mechanism of the palmoscope` embodies substantially twoelectromagnet's provided with coresl preferably built up' of alternateplates. 15, 15 of soft steel, and 16, 16 ofV tempered` steel,respectively. The tempered steel elements' of the two magnets areoppositely polarized, so that when an alternating currentV is sentthrough the magnets one of them'. will respond actively to one phase oftheA impulses, and' thel other to thev other phase. In other words, ifwe assume thatv the north pole of the righthand magnet, as shown in Fig.4, is at the top, then the north pole of the left hand magnet will be atthe bottom; and when an alternating current is senty through the magnetsone of them will be energized by one'phase of the current and the otherby thev other phase. The coils 17, of the respective magnets, areenergized by current derived from the same source as that whichilluminates the X-ray tubes, so that the alternations in the coils andinthe tubes have the same periodicity and phases.

lrlhus, in Fig. 21, 20 and 27 represent the main line leading from andbach to the source of the current, and one phase of the current passesfrom line 2O through line 21, transformer 22, 23, line 24, preferablythrough an adjustable resistance 1S, coils 17, line 25, transformer 23,22, line 26 and main line 27 back to the source of supply; while theother phase of the current follows the reverse course. Also, from line2O one phase of the current passes simultaneously through thetransformer 30, 31 line 32, tube 33, line 34, tube 35, line 36,transformer31, 30 and line 27 back to the sourceof supply; and the otherphase of the current follows the reverse course. rlhe tubes operatealternately, with an alternating current, due

to the fact that they are rectifying tubes, and one tube gives outX-rays, under the influence of one phase of the current, and the othertube gives out the -rays under the influence of the other phase ofcurrent. When the palmoscope is in use the tubes, 33, 35 are located, asshown diagrammatically in Fig. 21, behind the object of observation 40which is in front of the screen 41, behind which is'the observer, whoseeyes are represented as looking through .the palmoscope at 42, 43.Hence, at the instant the tube 33 is illuminated, and projects its raysthrough the obj ect under observation, 40, and casts its image on thescreen 41, by means of my iinproved mechanism, as hereinafter explained,theimage will be made visible by the observers eye at 42, and will beinvisible to his eye at 43. While, when the tube 35 is illuminated, andthe tube 33 is not, the image upon the screen 41 will be visible to theeye at 43' and not to the eye at 42.

To the upper portion of the base is firmly secured a block 46, which ispierced at 47, 47 to receive anchor bolts, and at 48 to receive a setscrew 49, the end of which projects into a bore 50, through which borepasses a shank 51, provided with a milled head 52, and an annular groove53, into which groove the point of 'the set screw 49 projects, (see Fig.2O), the lower end of the shank 51 being screw threaded to cooperatewith another part of the appa` ratus subsequently described. The block46 is also tapped at 54 to receive a set screw 55 adapted to close aportion of the slot 56 when screwed home. `The block 57 isv alsoprovided with a transverse slot 53. And this block 57 cooperates withblock 46, which is screwed to it and to the base 1 by means i of anchorbolts 59, 59, passing down through both the blocksy 46 and 57 andscrewed into the base 1. The transverse slot 53 in block 57 is milled toreceive a sliding block 60,

the bloei; 60 up or down along the strip, thev rotation of the threadedshank 51 operating to raise orlower the lbloclr 60 through itsl housing57. The strip 62 extends down between the poles of the electro magnets,the lower poles of which are preferably provided with buffer lugs 63,63, slotted at 64 to receive anchor bolts as shown which hold the endsof their respective magnets to the' base, thereby permitting the buerlugs to be adjusted toward or away from each other whenthe bolts areslaclrened off.

To the lower end of the strip 62 l attach two shutter vanes 66, 67 whichnormally lie partially overv the peep holes 68, 69 in the basel,preferably,4 however, leaving la narrow strip along the outer edge ofeach peep hole uncovered, as shown inFigs. 1 and 4, the result of thisarrangement being that when the strip 62 is drawn to one side it causesthe vane on that side toucover the peep hole on that side; and when thedeflection of the strip 62 is reversed it will cover thepeep hole ontheother-side and uncover the first one.

lt will beseen, therefore, that if the electro magnets are in circuitwith two X-ray tubes, adapted to respond respectively to the opposedphases of an alternating current, one of the tubes and one of themagnets will be simultaneously energized by the same electrical impulse,and, for instance, if the magneten the right side of the palinoscope isenergized simultaneously with the flash of the tube opposite the leftpeep hole, the vibratory strip 62 will be pulled to the right,uncovering the left peep hole andA closing the right one. And thismovement will be reversed under the influence of the next electricalimpulse; so that the vibrator-y strip 62, with its vanes 66, 67 willvibrate back and. forth in synchronism with the Flashes of the X-raytubes, thus permitting the observer to have a stereoscopic-like view ofthe object under observation, the strip 62- being accurately adjusted ortuned to the requisite vibratory length `,by the lengthening orshortening of its free portion through the raising or lowering of theblock 6th-as already described. l

ln the diagrammatic view shown in Fig. 18, l have illustrated themagnetic performance of the actuating magnets. This dia gram representsthe flux condition at one alternation of a 60-cycle current, at whichinstant the oscillating memberI would move to. the left; while at thenext alternation it would be attracted to and would move to the right;because the right hand magnetv vibratory elements 70, 7 lare usedinstead of the single element 62, the electro magnets being enlarged soas to increase` their iield sufficiently to actuate both of thevibratory elements, each of which is provided with a pair of vanes 72, 73 and 74, 7 5 respectively, these vanes being adjusted so that normallytheir adjacent edges do not quite meet, but leave a narrow slit vovereach of the peep holesv in the base. The strips 70, 71 are, moreover,adapted, by permanent polarization, or otherwise, to be separatelyattracted in opposite directions by the electro magnets; and under theinfluence of an alternating current they will be simultaneously moved inopposite directions, alternately covering and uncovering first one andthen the other of the peep holes. This arrangement slightly increasesthe rapidity of openingand closing the peep holes; and it also has theadvantage oli' expanding the field of vision in both directions as thepeep holes open, assisting to that extent the clearness of the observersvision.

1n the case of the modification shown in Figs, 15, 16 and 17, thehol-ding and regulating blocks 80, 81 and 82 are made deeper than theblocks 46, 57, 6() and are so proportioned as to properly hold the freeends of the strips 70, 71 in close proximity to, but not in contact witheach other. Suitable blocks, as 83, 83 may be interposed between thestrips 70, 71, so that both strips 70, 71 may be locked in place by thesame set screw 84.

1t will be seen that by means of my improvements 1 secure a simple,compact and efficient instrument for observing X-ray images, and onewhich is light and easily worn by the observer, thus leaving both of hishands free for other uses, and also permitting great freedom of movementby the observer' in connection with his work. r1`he instrument, alsogives a clear and distinct stereoscopic View of the object underobservation, so that the observer if, for instance, he is a surgeon, cansee in true perspective the conditions existing, and can, therefore,deal with them with a clear and comprehensive appreciation of theiractual` character.

It will be readily understood by those skilled in the art, that detailsof my palmoscope may be modified, as by the use of nechanicalequivalents, without departing trom the scope of my invention asclaimed.

Having thus described my invention, what 1 claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent ot the United States, is

1. 1n an apparatus for observing X-ray images, the combination, with a4source of alternating` current, of means i'or producing, by the upperhalf of the current wave, a series of such images projected from oneangle and alternating with a similar series produced by the lower haltof said current wave and projected from another angle, and means,actuated by the alternating current, movable in one ydirectionsimultaneously with each impulse of the upper half of the current wave,and moveable in the opposite direction simultaneously with each impulseof the lower half of such current wave, for limiting the view of one-series of such images to one point of observation, and of the otherseries to another point of observation,

2. 1n an apparatus for observing X-ray images, the combination, with asource of alternating current, of means for producing, by the upper halfof the current wave, a series of such images projected from one angleand alternating with a similar series, produced by thelower haii of saidcurrent wave and projected from another angle, and vibratory means,actuated by the alternating current, moveable in one directionsimultaneously with each impulse of the upper halt of the current wave,and moveable in the opposite direction simultaneously with each impulseof the lower half ot such current wave, for limiting the view of oneseries of such images to one pointof observation, and of the otherseries of another point of observation.

3. In an apparatus for observing X-ray images, the combination, with asource of alternating current, of means for produc-` ing, by the lowerhalf of the current wave, a series of such images projected Jfrom oneangle and alternating with a similar series, produced by the lowerhallof said currentv wave and projected from another angle, and means,moveable in one direction by| and simultaneously with each impulse ofthe upper half of the current wave, and moveable in the oppositedirection by and simultaneously with each impulse of the lower half ofsuch current wave, for limiting the view of one series of such images toone. point of observation, and of the other series to another point ofobservation.

4. In an apparatus for observing X-ray images, means for producing aseries of such images projected from one angle and alternating With asimilar series projected.

- y another angle, and resilient, vibratory means for limiting the viewof one series to one point et observation, and ot the other series toanot ier point of observation, and electrically energized means i'oiactuating the vibratorjv means in synclironisni with the production orthe images.

6. ln an apparatus for observing X-ray images, means for producing aseries or such images projected from one angle and alternating with asimilar series projected trom another angle, and vib'ratory means,embodying an elastic armature, disposed between oppositely polarizedelectro magnets, for limiting the view oic one series to one point oicobservation, and of the other series to another point of observation.

7. lin an apparatus for observing X-ray images, means for producing` aseries or' such images projected from one angle and alternating `with asimilar series projected from another angle, and vibratory meansembodying an elastic arn'iature, disposed between oppositeljf polarizedelectro magnets, and provided With vibration regulating means, forlimiting the vieiv of one series to one point of observation, and of theother series to another point of observation.

S. in appar tus for observing X-ray images, means for producing a seriesof such images projected from one angle and 9, ln an'apparatus forobserving X-ray images, means for producing a series of such imagesprojected from one angle and alternatingivitli a similar seriesprojected :trom another angle,` and vibratory means for lirnitiiio` thevievv of one series to one point of observation, and of the other seriesto another point of observation, and a case containing said vibratorymeans and provided With observation openings, and With means fordetachably attaching it to th head of the observer.

l0. ln an apparatus for observing X-ray images, means for producing aseries of such images projected from one angle and alternating with asimilar series projected from another angle, and vibratory means,embodying an elastic armature disposed between oppositely polarizedelectro magnets built up of alternate plates of soft steel and temperedsteel, for limiting the view of one series to one point of observation,and of the other series to another point of observation. y

1.1. In an apparatus for observing vX-rav images, means actuated by analternating electrical current for producing tWo alteriiating series oi"images projected from different angles, and resilient, vibratorymeansactuated by alternations from the same electrical current, for limitingthe View of one series oic 'mages to one eye of an observer, and of theother series of'images to his other eye.

LitsLir n. MCDoNALD.

